Charged particle beam emitters, such as cold field emission emitters, have an enormous potential due to their high brightness, small source size, and low energy spread. A cold field emitter typically includes a crystal of tungsten formed to a very narrow point, which is mounted to a loop of tungsten wire. The very narrow point is also frequently referred to as an emitter tip. When applying a voltage to the cold field emitter, a very strong electric field is formed at the emitter tip due to the tip's small curvature. The strong electric field enables the electrons to pass the potential barrier between the metal and the vacuum in which the cold field emitter is placed. Accordingly, the established electric field is often referred to as an electric extractor field as it causes the electrons to be “extracted” from the emitter tip. As compared to so-called thermal emitters, which are heated to a temperature sufficient to enable thermal emission, cold field emitters are not heated so that electrons are only emitted due to the presence of the strong electric field. As the electric field strength of the electric extractor field is only sufficiently strong in the vicinity of the highly curved emitter tip, electrons are only emitted therefrom resulting in a point-like electron source.
Despite its superior advantages with respect to brightness, source size, and low energy spread, cold field emitters are also known as being unstable and delicate due to adsorption and desorption of residual gas molecules of the vacuum which drastically alters the emission characteristic of the cold field emitter. In order to obtain a reasonably stable emission, an ultra high vacuum is required which is typically better than 1.33*10−7 Pa (10−9 Torr) and in certain cases better than 1.33* 10−9 Pa (10−11 Torr). Principally, the lower the pressure the better the vacuum and hence the stability.
A typical emission characteristic of a clean cold field emitter under a constant extraction field exhibits an initial high emission current I0. Upon further operation under standard conditions (i.e., under a constant electric extraction field, a given vacuum, and a constant low temperature) the emission current declines continuously due to increasing adsorption of residual gas molecules in the vacuum on the surface of the emitter tip. At the same time, gas molecules adhering to the emitter surface begin to desorb from the emitter surface so that after a certain period of time, adsorption and desorption of gas molecules are balanced. When the balance condition is reached, or in other words, when a dynamical equilibrium of adsorption and desorption has been established, the emission current is substantially stable and assumes a stable mean emission current IS. Under this balanced condition the emission current fluctuates around the substantially stable mean emission current IS, which is well below the initial high emission current I0. An exemplary emission current of a cold field emitter is, for instance, shown in FIG. 1 of Okumura et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,106) which is reproduced in FIG. 4 of the present application. As indicated in FIG. 4, the emission current I declines from I0 to a stable mean emission current I1(=IS). This period is sometimes referred to as the initial unstable period. The time required for the stabilization of the emission current and the extent of the emission current decline depend on the quality of the vacuum. The balanced condition is established after a few minutes depending on the quality of the vacuum. Conventionally, the period of stable emission is sometimes referred to as the stable emission period.
In order to obtain a constant emission current Okumura et al. suggest controlling the field strength of the extraction field so that the emission current is kept about IS even during the initial unstable region. Specifically, at the beginning of the field emission when the emitter tip is still clean, a lower electric extraction field is applied to keep the emission current at IS. Upon further operation, the field strength of the electric extraction field is ramped up to compensate the decline of the emission current which would otherwise occur under constant electric field conditions.
The balanced conditions may be affected by positively charged ions or molecules, which are accelerated by the electric extraction field towards the surface of the emitter tip resulting in fluctuations of the emission current. Molecules or ions impinging on the surface of the emitter tip lead to a partial desorption of adsorbed gas molecules and hence, to a temporal removal of residual gas molecules from the emitter tip resulting in a temporal rise of the emission current. As this effect is counterbalanced by a continuous adsorption of gas molecules, fluctuation of the emission current is observed. The fluctuations become stronger over long periods of operation and, using the notation of Okumura et al., a terminal unstable region is reached when strong fluctuations are observable. In the worst case, the fluctuations may result in an avalanche of desorption and a subsequent uncontrolled emission. The emitter tip may be destroyed if the field strength of the electric extraction field cannot be reduced fast enough.
To reduce fluctuations and to increase the emission current, different approaches have been suggested. For example, the emitter tip can be coated with a material having a low work function to reduce the voltage required for extracting electrons. Alternatively, the emitter tip, such as a ZrO/W [100] Schottky emitter, can be heated to about 1800 K to 2000 K to thermally stimulate electron emission. However, such emitters are not “cold” emitters. Contrary to cold emitters, hot or thermal emitters emit from the whole emitter surface rather than only from the emitter tip and therefore, do not have a. point-like source like cold emitters. A further option for reducing fluctuations is to improve the vacuum. However, this approach is very expensive and increases the cost-of-ownership.
It has also been proposed to decontaminate the emitter tip after a given long period of operation. Typically, the emitter tip is cleaned by short healing pulses, also referred to as flashing, during which the emitter tip is heated to a temperature sufficiently high to cause a noticeable desorption of adsorbed gas molecules. As disclosed by Okumura et al. and referred to above, the emitter tip is decontaminated by flashing using an electrical heater when the fluctuations about the mean stable emission current IS become more pronounced. The decontamination intervals are then typically in the range of hours. It is also known to heat the emitter tip of a cathode-ray type electron gun at fixed time intervals as, for instance, described by Iwasaki (U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,375) to keep the emission stable at the mean emission current IS. Furthermore, Steigerwald (U.S. Patent No. 2004/0124365) suggests using a photon beam focused on the emitter tip to heat the emitter tip to a temperature of about 1300 K to 1500 K for a partial decontamination.